NPD: Android now outselling iPhone in the US

updated 10:20 am EDT, Mon May 10, 2010

by MacNN Staff

Apple allegedly slipping to 3rd place

Android phones may be outselling the iPhone in the US for the first time, according to new NPD data. In the first quarter of the year, Google-based phones like the Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris helped bump Android up to 28 percent of the market where Apple's phone mustered just 21 percent. RIM's BlackBerries were relatively safe but dropped to 36 percent, down 6 percent.

Much of the gain is attributed to Verizon, whose success with the Droid line as well as its Buy One Get One promos helped keep its smartphone sales very close to AT&T's even with the iPhone in place. AT&T was still the leader thanks to Apple with 32 percent of all US smartphone sales, but Verizon was just behind at 30 percent. T-Mobile and Sprint were left taking just half as many customers each at 17 and 15 percent respectively.

The popularity of smartphones helped raise the average price of all phones year-over-year to $88, but rapid cost cutting brought the price of a smartphone down slightly to $151 over the same period.

NPD's data isn't necessarily reflective of absolute share as it's based on 150,000 responses to its panel, which requires sign-ups and may skew towards more technically inclined users. However, it may reflect the sheer numerical advantage Android has over the iPhone in both customer reach and devices. Where the iPhone is by its nature limited to one company and still has a US exclusive with one carrier, Android is available on all four majors and usually with more than one phone design at each carrier.

As a consequence, Android has had a seemingly quicker update schedule, as phones like the Nexus One and Droid Incredible are now potentially faster than the iPhone 3GS and have features it doesn't, such as higher resolution cameras and sharper screens.

TAGS

TOTAL_COMMENTS Comments

To bad that Google is making ZERO revenue from the fact. Google's whole strategy of Android was to make tons of ad revenue, but I doubt if that's going well at all with AdMob sort of tied up at the moment.

This is not Windows vs. Mac wars. Having a smaller, but significant slice of the market isn't a platform killer. I suspect that the iPhone itself is the best selling phone, but the fact you have a dozen Android models means that the Android platform itself has more market share.

However, mobile apps are a bit easier to write and maintain that desktop apps, so many companies will be building apps for both platforms. This is unlike the Mac/Windows war where companies only had the resources to support a single platform and chose the bigger one.

Also remember that 90% of the functionality is in the built in apps. Email, Web browsing, Note taking, etc. That's what makes people buy these phones.

Still, Apple has to get on the ball a bit. Once where there was no competition, there's now a lot of it. Apple has shown some savvy with its updates, and I suspect that Apple will now split the platform vs. OS updates into separate events: One will take place in June, and one in January. Plus, we'll see some minor updates moved throughout the year.

One of the advantages of Android is that they have a dozen manufacturers who can announce new phones at almost any time. Of course, that's their big disadvantage: You announce an update, and get trumped a few weeks later by your competitor who had a special "in" with Google.

Now that Android has somewhat matured and HP is dumping massive resources into WebOS, it may be time for Apple to think about winning hearts and minds again, and allowing iPhone users to install the apps they want to install, even those which carriers and other partners may not particularly like, as Android and WebOS users are able to do.

Of course the yearly iPhone release cycle is a big factor, and it can be expected that the product will do relatively poorly at the end of its cycle, but that's also what makes the iPhone so incredibly profitable for Apple. A possible solution to this may be for Apple to have two radically different iPhone models serving different markets, and have the release cycles staggered by six months. The other alternative would be to release a new model every eight months instead of twelve, take a hit in profitability, and still be able to line up with people's two-year plan refreshes, now every three phone models instead of two. Overall, this problem is somewhat mitigated by the attraction of iPhone OS app availability and the iPhone's brand strength, so it may not be the most important issue to address.

The other obvious factor is the exclusive carrier agreement with AT&T in the US, with Verizon pouring marketing money into Android to counter Apple's iPhone. Apple is leaving the door wide open for competitors to establish themselves with people who prefer other carriers for various reasons, giving a great boost to Android device vendors. Ending this exclusive distribution agreement as soon as possible seems like the most obvious answer to this competitive pressure.

Personally, I recommend people get Android phones because I'm fearful of the power Apple wields over its users (namely me, making me jailbreak my iPhone to run valuable applications that Apple won't allow for whatever reason), and I need credible competition to keep that power in check. I think many technophiles are rooting for and promoting competitors, even if they use iPhones themselves, simply due to Apple's repression of user empowerment with iPhone OS devices. I honestly believe that loosening the reigns on their iPhone OS users would afford Apple a whole lot more goodwill with geeks, and remove many of the reservations they have recommending iPhones to people. Making the iPhone more geek-friendly should obviously not be done at the expense of usability for non-geeks, but the value of courting this class of users is to be ignored at Apple's peril, as these are the users who people trust to guide their purchasing decisions.

I'm as much an Apple fanboy as the rest but iPhone OS 4 is a MEH! update from what we can see.

There's nothing new, groundbreaking, or even an extension of the current iPhone.

Have been looking at the new Androids (Droid, Eris, Incredible) and even the new Sprint EVO and they all look much better than what we've seen in OS4.

I'd love a customizable lock screen, widget system, etc but none of those seem to be in 4.0. Heck, even the cool functionality for my car (Ford with Sync) is coming to Android and Blackberry before the iPhone.

Apple really needs to step up the game or my next phone will not be an iPhone. Shame too as it's a great platform.

I'm still using my 1st generation iPhone. I won't buy one now due to seeing the excellent phone Apple will likely release in June (thanks Gizmodo). Note the language: Android phones, Blackberry phones versus THE iPhone. While I think upgrades would be better every 6 months (although I can't upgrade anymore), I also think the iPhone will be just fine once the new phone hits.

Is this a repeat of the Macintosh fall? Walls up around themselves to limit innovation? Pricing themselves out of the market... is the game up *again*? Or will Apple wake up to reality this time, start to actually use their competitors products, and $ee why people want them.

I said that after a while all Apple products (except for ipods unfortunately) will do a Mac. They'll start going down in popularity as better products come out. This will happen with the ipad too, there are a few really nice looking tablets coming out that will bring down the ipad.

YangZone As long as Steve Jobs is CEO of Apple this will always happen. He brings good product ideas but also ruins Apple because he's communistic business practices. After he leaves if they get someone who's open minded and brings good innovation then Apple will start to gain ground on a regular basis and stay there.

Right, all the other phone manufacturers just sell phones, never offering updates to the OS. Except for those companies, of course, that have pushed out updates. But I'm sure they don't count.

If this was a report about macs, people would say it was pointless, since Apple isn't about Marketshare. It's all about the experience and all that rot. But, I guess we're saving that argument in case the market share falls farther?

As to the GM->Ford Focus comparison, maybe you should then take this up when someone posts market share of computers. Say you can't compare Dell to Apple, since Apple only sells three models of this or that, while dell has 20 models, so of course they'd sell more. Or whatever your point was.

Is there a phone out there that says "Android" on it?
Or did I miss some big announcement where people exhibited an ounce of care for the brand of the OS their phone is running? I could've sworn it was the device brand that mattered?

Perhaps NPD could save their analysis for a measurement that actually matters to consumers and the market. Consumers care about the entire package more than ever now. All these great new features that people love Android for are identical across the spectrum for all the phones currently running Android?? Didn't think so. Can you transfer your Android system with all its apps and settings from a Verizon Droid to a Sprint EVO? Didn't think so.

1. These stats are for the US market only.
2. Verizon had a buy one get one free offer meaning some of these phones were freebies.
3. AT&T still grew faster despite all of these free Android phones on Verizon.
4. Apple is due to a refresh in June/July which could account for reduced sales of the 3G/3GS.
5. The iPhone 4G was leaked on Gizmodo potentially resulting in people delaying purchases of updates from the 3G and wait for the 4G.
6. Approximately 60 percent of iPhone sales are now coming from outside of the US market.

This last statistic should tell you something. I have met some really nice American people on my travels around the world including into the US but there are also a lot of Americans who have no idea that there is a world outside of their borders.

Even ignoring the fact that sales are cyclical and that people who already own an iPhone 3GS are not going to buy a new iPhone 3GS, this US statistic does not mean that the sky is falling.

These are mobile OS platform marketshare figures, which are critically important to software developers who target various mobile OS platforms. In turn, the number of developers supporting the platform is relevant to the consumers, and so yes, this totally matters to consumers as well. Vendor marketshare figures are really less relevant to consumers than investors. Consumers care about what the device can do, and thus what apps it can run, and how much it costs, not really what company it's from, as long as it's reputable and trusted.

Yep, I've had the same complaint about operating sales statistics. Who cares if 90% of computers come with Windows on it. We want to know how many computers HP sells. There's no reason to know how many Windows machines are out there....

we have been through the gauntlet at my house. We have went through 3 black berries and an iPhone. We have settled (currently) on a G1 running Android (rooted to run Android 2.1) and my next phone will be an android phone.

vegetables are also outselling apples... so goodbye apples
chearleaders like you... sloppy, don't usually have much of a brain,
check the books before you start to make checks... dude
Its just in the US... and mainly thanks to the Verizon's policy:
"in order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its
buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM's devices to now include all of their smartphones."!!!
so much for that..

Login Here

Now AAPL Stock: The symbol you provided ("AAPL") doesn't appear to be registered

Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit

Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj

Share

Developer628d

Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket

The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]

Share

628d

Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera

Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94

Share

Industry628d

Apple employees testing wheelchair features

New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa

Share

Troubleshooting628d

SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards

SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If

Share

Upgrades/storage628d

Apple's third-quarter results due July 26

Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm

Share

Investor629d

Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users

Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE